NASA's ICESat-2 mission gets green light to continue measuring Earth's heights

NASA’s Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission has received the green light to continue operation after successfully completing its three-year primary mission.

Since its launch in 2018, the ICESat-2 mission has gathered data and inspired research on changing Earth – ranging from ice to tropical beaches, boreal forests to urban areas. The satellite sends 10,000 laser light pulses every second down to Earth. When reflected back to the satellite, those pulses deliver high-precision surface height measurements every 28 inches (70 centimeters) along its orbit. With these trillions of data points, scientists can distinguish more features of Earth's surface, like small lakes and ponds, and track them over time.

Last year, researchers, using ICESat-2, found that the Arctic has lost about a third of its winter sea ice volume since 2003. Two new subglacial lakes were also discovered deep below the surface of Antarctic ice with ICESat-2. These are just a few of the 100+ new findings made with precise height data from the 12 trillion laser measurements collected from the mission.

Twelve trillion photons down, trillions more photons to come!The #ICESat2 mission has received the official green light to continue measuring Earth's heights, after successfully completing its primary mission. Discover what it has revealed so far: https://t.co/R0Gn9fgS7o pic.twitter.com/ATuFELwmLp

— NASA Ice (@NASA_ICE) June 28, 2022

"Right away, we saw changes in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, the influence of the ocean eating away at the ice and melting the surface in Greenland. But what has also really stood out is the diversity of scientific fields using ICESat-2. It spans ocean science, hydrology, the cryosphere, the biosphere – I knew there would be a lot of ways of using the data, but I don’t think I anticipated how quickly that would happen. I’m looking forward to the tsunami of studies coming," said Alex Gardner, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

NASA's ICESat-2 carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a laser altimeter that detects individual photons, allowing scientists to measure the elevation of ice sheets, sea ice, forests and more in unprecedented detail.